Rey: Struggle for Vandor
by Queen MetaKnight
Summary: Years after the events of The Last Jedi, Rey and company arrive at Vandor to sway them to join the cause of The Resistance. This story takes place after the events of Episode VIII, and relates to the planet and characters of Solo.
1. Chapter 1

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

STAR WARS: STRUGGLE FOR VANDOR

It has been over two years since the death of SUPREME LEADER SNOKE

and the crippling of THE FIRST ORDER and THE RESISTANCE. The remaining

soldiers of both factions meet each other in skirmishes across the galaxy.

REY and her fellow heroes aboard the legendary starship THE MILLENNIUM

FALCON travel to the Mid-Rim planet VANDOR to gather support

for their cause, but they may already be too late...

Chewbacca brought the _Millennium Falcon_ out of hyperspace behind Vandor's larger moon, and Rey watched as Poe Dameron's X-wing zipped in front of them and slowed to a stop on the edge of the moon. Rey reached up, and flipped the _Falcon_ 's radar on, using Poe's ship, Black 2, as a satellite. Lieutenant Kaydel Connix's voice came in over the cockpit's speakers, "There's a Dissident-class cruiser and couple dozen TIE fighters." Rey's heart dropped at the thought of losing another system to the First Order. "It looks like they're sending troops down to the planet via shuttle," Connix continued, "It looks like maybe they just arrived. I'm getting short range signals all across the planet talking about their arrival." Rey sprung into action, "Chewie, we need to get to Vandor as quickly as possible and land before they can pinpoint our heat signature." Rey pressed the transmission button on the _Falcon_ 's control hub, "Poe, we're headed planet-side, you'll need to cover us."

"Roger that." Poe's voice replied, followed by some beeps from BB-8. Finn, who was sitting behind Chewbacca, protested, "What?! We can't go up against that many fighters! They'll rip us apart!" Rey rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the armpit, dragging him out of the cockpit, "Shut up and jump in a quad cannon." Finn was now jogging behind her, and gave Rose Tico a nod of acknowledgement as they passed her. Rose wiped the sweat from her brow, unwittingly rubbing black grease across her forehead, "You're going to have limited range of vertical movement while the new scanning system is still up." "Don't touch those scanners!" Lieutenant Connix called from her communications hub in the engineering bay, "We'll never find a landing zone without them."

Finn climbed up the ladder to the quad cannon muttering to himself "that's great, that's really really great..."

Chewbacca's war came in over Rey's headset, and she could see the horizon of Vandor's moon disappearing under her. They passed over Poe Dameron, who looked up and gave a slight salute. Rey adjusted herself in her chair, gripping the controls of the quad laser. Connix's voice came in over the radio again, "Setting a path for seventy degrees east, looking for something along the equator. The First Order is headed for population center Fort Ypso, but most of the planet is accessible by Empire-era magna-rails, so we'll be able to access anywhere as long as we're near one." Rey took a breath and responded, somewhat annoyed, "We can worry about that later, just get what data you can and we'll analyze it on the ground. Is there any ship movement?" Lieutenant Connix paused a moment before replying, "The TIE fighters seem to be busy providing escorts to the shuttles. Maybe they aren't running their scanners."

Just then, a hail of laser fire erupted from the First Order cruiser. Chewbacca banked the _Millennium Falcon_ to avoid it, but there was no need, as the lasers fell wide of the ship. "Incoming transmission," Connix said sheepishly, "Sorry about that. Patching it through." Rey stiffened as a familiar voice erupted in her ear, "The _Millennium Falcon_! What a wonderful day for General Armitage Hux of the Vulture to rise again in the First Order. Surrender now and you may be granted your lives!" Rey yelled down to Connix, "Kill the feed!"

Hux's voice was still blabbering about returning to glory as his voice was cut off by a soft blip. Rey brought her headset's microphone close to her mouth, "Punch it, Chewie." Chewbacca roared in response and brought thrusters to full speed, leaving Black 2 behind him as the _Falcon_ raced toward Vandor. Poe Dameron laid in wait, invisible to the Vulture's scanners behind the orbiting body. Connix's voice came over the comms again, "TIE fighter's incoming, good luck." Poe counted a dozen fighters screaming toward his friends aboard the _Millennium Falcon_. BB-8 offered a few anxious whistles as he gripped his control stick. "Hold on, buddy, not until they're close enough to hit them..."

On board, Finn swung his quad-laser toward the incoming bogeys and let off a blast directly down the middle of the group. Four green laser bolts erupted from beneath him, but the fighters dodged them with ease, splitting up into four groups of three. "Wait until they get close," Rey called up the ladder, "Let the Force guide your hand." Finn shook his head and trained his turret on an incoming fighter, waiting for a chance to pull the trigger. A stream of green flew from the fighters, but Chewbacca was banking from port to starboard, and they whipped past the _Falcon_ into empty space. More laser blasts whipped past Finn's turret, and he looked at the ship's stern to see a group of fighters hot on their tail.

Just as the fighters were launching another round of lasers, they were interrupted from behind by Poe Dameron. One after another, three TIE fighters exploded from a flurry of red lasers coming out of Poe's upgraded X-Wing. Each one was engulfed in a fireball, which immediately was dissipated by the vacuum of space. Finn smiled and turned his attention to the group of fighters coming in from above, and let out a volley at the same time they launched their own. Finn caught one on the wing, sending it spinning out of control toward Vandor. Finn braced himself as the other two fighters landed direct hits on the _Falcon_ 's shield, and bright blue flashes illuminated Finn's veiwscreen. More fighters flew past him, but he was unable to track them. In the other turret, Rey was whooping in excitement, and Finn heard similar exclamations coming from Poe over his headset.

"It looks like Hux is sending more TIE fighters over, I intercepted an order that they are only to target the _Falcon_ ," Lieutenant Connix informed the crew, "Chewbacca, I've sent you an updated course correction. We're going to try and lose the fighters in the magnetism of the mountain range." Finn gritted his teeth as he pulled the trigger on another passing fighter squad, this time catching one dead center with all four lasers. Black 2 flew past him, eliminating the surviving ships. Finn smiled, reassured by Dameron's expert piloting skills as the X-Wing turned back and took out a stray TIE fighter while inverted. The _Millennium Falcon_ was close to the planet now, and Finn could see the Vulture disappearing behind the planet, along with the system's white sun. Six more TIE fighters were flying directly toward them at top speed.

Finn's stomach dropped as he felt the _Falcon_ abandon artificial gravity, Chewbacca was diverting all power to the shields to buy them more time. A TIE fighter made a pass across their bow before Poe took it out, and Finn watched as a First Order pilot fell flailing toward Vandor's surface. "Last one is all yours," Poe said as he flew Black 2 at the next wave of TIE fighters. No longer in space, Finn's quad-laser cannon shook his seat as he let off a spurt of blasts at the remaining enemy. They fell short, and the fighter turned to take another shot. This time, the lasers penetrated the shields of the _Millennium Falcon_ , and sparks flew around Finn as they struck the ship's hull. Finn shielded his eyes and managed to let off another round before the fighter flew below him, and he soon heard another cry of victory. "Got him!" Rey yelled up to Finn. "Good job!" He yelled back, turning his attention to where Poe had flown.

Black 2 and the First Order ships were on the other side of the clouds, which were alight in green and red flashes. Finn watched as flame and smoke erupted from the sky, and a burning TIE fighter was sent to its destruction. "Fly down into the range, Chewbacca, Commander Dameron will have to find us visually." Connix ordered. Finn felt his stomach rise as the _Millennium Falcon_ descended into snowy, metallic mountains. Above them, the laserfire had ceased, and Finn saw a lone X-Wing fly down over the mountain range. An orange droid poked out under Black 2 and began to scan the range for a few moments, before the ship flew down towards the _Falcon_ and flew low behind it.

Finn and Rey exited their turrets and met in the corridor, where Rose was kneeling with her head stuck into a wall panel and a mess of tools by her side. Rey was wearing a canvass vest with a beige shirt underneath. Her brown hair was falling loosely onto her shoulders as her thing lips smiled at Finn, her friendly hazel eyes alight with life. "That was amazing, Finn! We did it!" Finn couldn't help but return her natural excitement. Every time Rey walked into a room, it was suddenly filled with life, and Finn couldn't help but wonder if it was due to her connection to the Force or simply her natural charisma and beauty. Rey hugged him, gave him a kiss, and ran to the cockpit.

Finn and Rose were now alone in the corridor. Rose pulled her head out of the wall, looked up at Finn, and gave him an awkward smile. Finn smiled and walked past her. Two years ago, Rose had come out of a coma with no recollection of their kiss. Finn never had the courage to tell her, unsure and slightly afraid of what might evolve from it. He couldn't deny that he had feelings for both her and Rey. In the cockpit, Rey was in the copilot's seat with control of the _Falcon_. Chewbacca was scanning for a piece of land on which to land. Snow was whipping past the ship, making it seem like they were in hyperspace. Chewbacca let out a soft roar, and Rey steered the _Millennium Falcon_ into a valley, landing near the foot of a grey and white hill.

Finn went to the loading dock, and lowered the ramp, and two porgs waddled down before retreating back from the cold. Finn walked down onto the cold ground of Vandor, breathing into his hands to keep them warm. Finn was chilly even though he was wearing the leather Resistance jacket Poe had given him years ago. Black 2 landed behind him, letting a hiss of steam from its exhaust port as it settled onto the ground. BB8 ejected itself from the bottom and rolled gleefully toward Finn and the _Falcon_. Finn leaned down and let the droid roll into his arms, and then watched him roll up the ramp. When Finn looked back to the X-Wing, Poe was walking across the barren earth in his flight gear, with a rucksack under his arm. Finn greeted him with a hug, and took the bag for him, "Man, you really saved us up there!" Poe smiled and pushed his curly, disheveled hair behind his ear, "Hey, I'm just doing my job, Finn, but our mission has barely started. Let's not get too excited."

The pair of friends climbed the ramp laughing, and Finn raised the ramp behind them. They assembled in the main hold with the rest of the crew. A few years ago, this would be a strange sight, but the Resistance had taken so many casualties that their very existence was a blessing. Poe Dameron was the ranking member of the Resistance, but Kaydel Connix was leading this mission on special instructions from Lieutenant Leia Organa. Leia had justified this by telling Poe he could take command at any moment, but his skills in combat were temporarily more valuable than his leadership as an officer.

Chewbacca, the owner of the _Falcon_ and first pilot, was stretched out on the couch. His hair had trails of gray throughout, and he had to comb it more often than he used to in order to keep it from matting. Rose, the ship's engineer, was seated next to Chewbacca, resting her feet on BB-8. Rey was sitting cross-legged on the Dejarik table, waiting eagerly for their next move. Poe and Finn shooed some porgs away and sat on some cargo boxes and turned towards Lieutenant Connix. Kaydel was standing with perfect posture in the center of the room, hands behind her back. She had changed out of her resistance uniform into a tan, padded suit. Kaydel had soft facial features and brown eyes, and her hair was let down from the usual buns, falling loosely onto her chest. She took a deep breath before speaking to the crew of the _Millennium Falcon_.

"Welcome to Vandor, population one hundred million of sentient creatures. Fifty years ago, this was one of the first locations where the Rebellion agains the Empire was founded." Kaydel placed a personal hologram projector on the floor, and the ghostly blue image of Vandor came into being. "Vandor has been changing hands for decades between the Rebellion, the Empire, the Republic, First Order, and Resistance due to its resource rich environments. When Vice Admiral Holdo destroyed the First Order's fleet, the people of Vandor drove the First Order out. Now that Kylo Ren has consolidated power in the Order, Vandor has been deemed a high-value system for both factions. The local population might not be receptive to the resistance, but we're hoping to persuade them by recognizing their planetary government as legitimate."

Finn raised his hand, posing a question to Kaydel, "Why wasn't their government recognized before? Before the Republic fell." Poe leaned back against another box of cargo, "Because they're criminals, aren't they, Lieutenant Connix?" Kaydel nodded, ever so slightly, "The current government is a coalition of criminal organizations, led by the Crimson Dawn and the Cloud Riders. The Cloud Riders seems to be our best bet, as General Organa was once close with their leader. Commander Dameron, would you please open that container you're sitting on." Poe Dameron hopped off the container, and opened the latch with a smack of his fist. The box swung open, revealing two dozen blaster rifles, along with thermal detonators and a large rocket launcher.

Finn hopped off his box in surprise. Lieutenant Connix laughed and said, "Don't worry, Finn, that one only has Bacta. As the rest of you might have guessed by now, this expedition is a significant investment for the Resistance." Poe frowned and pulled the lid of the box of armaments closed, "So our plan is to start a war against trained First Order storm troopers by giving guns to civilians, or are we just arms dealers now?" Kaydel's voice heightened, "Our plan is to make contact with the Cloud Riders with the intent to ally against the First Order, and if necessary apply leverage in the form of arms and medicine."

Poe stood up, towering over Lieutenant Connix, "If those are General Organa's orders, then I'll follow them, but I'm not going to let these fall into the hands of the wrong person." Poe paused a minute, obviously frustrated, "and I'm not going to let innocent people die in this war. They've already had enough of that on this planet." Poe left the room to the Engineering Bay, and the Wookie growled in agreement. Kaydel nodded and addressed the rest of the crew. "Very well then, I've disguised our location to radar and thermal imaging, so we'll be proceeding on foot. Chewbacca and Rose, you'll stay with the _Millennium Falcon_. The rest of us will proceed on foot to the magna-rail. We'll catch a ride to the next town over and try and make contact with the Cloud Riders. We'll radio in when we need you."

Kaydel looked at the crew, reassured by Rey's beaming smile. "Very well, then. We leave in one hour. Dismissed."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The team left as the sun was rising over the mountains. Rey looked up as the metal in the rocks glittered and danced through the valley. She looked back over her shoulder and saw Rose and Chewbacca standing at the bottom of the loading dock, watching them leave. The crew was led single file through the mountain pass by Lieutenant Connix. Finn and Poe were in the rear of the squad, carrying blaster rifles and wearing leather jackets similar to those of the Resistance, but without any insignia. Rey adjusted the straps of the backpack Kaydel had given her to carry, and heard some heavy, metal objects shift around inside. She was reminded of her training with Master Luke, who had her carry rocks in a sling for the Lanais back on Ach-To. Rey was filled with warmth remembering the old Jedi who had given her so much. Rey was wearing a light, fleece jacket and black leggings; she watched her breath rise into the cold air, touching her face which was numb from the cold. Rose and Chewbacca watched as the crew disappeared into the distance before heading back into the _Millennium Falcon_ to wait for their signal.

Kaydel Connix staggered down the uneven land, clutching her holoreader with her blaster pistol on her side. "The mountains of Vandor are covered in iron, which will shield you from the First Order," General Leia Organa had told Kaydel, her voice shaking in her old age. "Beneath the mountains are rich deposits of Coaxium, that's what brought the Empire to the system decades ago. You won't be able to rely on holo-imaging to navigate the area." General Organa had leaned forward to Kaydel and tapped her on her forehead, "You'll need to do things the old-fashioned way."

Kaydel looked down at the terrestrial map of Vandor she had downloaded before the mission. During the flight down to the planet, she had captured aerial electronic images to better navigate the team to the magna-rails. Orientating herself to face East, she led the team further from the _Falcon_. The team was quiet for a long time, but Finn finally broke the silence after two hours. "Why can't we just take the _Falcon_ to get us closer, that way we don't have to hike through this mess?" He asked the Lieutenant. Rey and Kaydel looked down as Finn struggled to climb over a shining boulder. The former stormtrooper was sweating, and his rifle was slung loosely over his shoulder. Rey offered a hand down to him, but Finn was too preoccupied to notice and clumsily lifted himself to their level with his forearms, "Because we don't want there to be any chance that the First Order to scan the planet and lock onto the _Falcon_. Besides, weren't you a soldier? Shouldn't you be trained to navigate this kind of terrain?" Finn looked up to her, wiping the sweat from his forehead, "They were more into formations and marching than preparing us for any harsh terrain."

While they talked, Kaydel knelt on the ridge of the mountain and scanned the next valley with her macrobinoculars. Referencing her holoreader, she frowned. "They don't match up." Lieutenant Connix said flatly, "We must have made a wrong turn." Finn sat down, thankful for some respite. Poe Dameron knelt next to Kaydel, examining the holoreader. "Even if we're off course, we must be close to the rail," the pilot said as he looked up to Rey, "Can you sense the trains using the Force?" Rey closed her eyes and reached out her senses, but to no avail. "No," She admitted, "but she might be able to." Kaydel stood up and walked over to Rey, "I'm not Force-sensitive, Rey. I can't do those things."

Rey took Kaydel's hands in her own. "Close your eyes, Kaydel. Let the force flow through you." Kaydel close her eyes and took a breath. She had seen the miracles in which the Force had manifested itself, but was unsure about her own abilities with it. Kaydel took a deep breath, mimicking what she had seen Rey do during her meditation on the _Falcon_. She felt the sun on her skin, the weather was warm and pleasant now. Kaydel felt her aching feet and the tight muscles in her legs. Then she felt a wave of warmth erupt from Rey's hands, leaving a tingling sensation running up and down her body. The pain and discomfort of their trek disappeared, and her mind was suddenly clear. Her mind raced as she remembered the paths they had taken, and the territory she had in her mind. An epiphany struck her, and she released Rey's hands to take the holoreader back from Poe. She realigned the map, and pointed North over a small, grey mountain.

Kaydel turned back to Rey, "I felt the Force through you, Rey. That's the direction we need to go. Is this how you feel all of the time?" Rey smiled, "A lot of the time, but I always keep up with my training and meditation." Kaydel's face was aglow, a warm pink replacing her previously pale skin, and she was still smiling as she continued towards the magna-rail. Poe followed after her, giving Rey a nod of approval. Finn lifted himself up, this time accepting a hand from Rey, "Do you use the Force to stay fit enough to make this hike so easily?" Rey allowed Finn to take the lead before responding, "Nope, I just work on physical conditioning every once in a while." Finn was turned from her, but Rey heard a dramatic groan in response.

Finn struggled through the last leg of the journey, but with Rey's help, eventually caught up with Connix and Dameron. The officers were laying prone at the ridge of the mountain, and Rey and Finn copied their stance. Kaydel was scanning the valley with her macrobinoculars and Poe was looking through the scope of his blaster rifle. "What's happening?" Rey asked. "Stormtroopers." Kaydel whispered, handing Rey the macrobinoculars. Rey looked down into the valley, and quickly locked on to a light Crane-class shuttlecraft. A handful of stormtroopers were standing guard while an officer oversaw two engineers unloading large black crates from the shuttle. Above the shuttle was the magna-rail. A dozen train cars silently whipped past the First Order troops, and Rey watched it disappear over the mountains. She took the binoculars away from her face, finding them with her naked eyes. "500 meters," said Kaydel, "They must be looking for us, it's not like our plan was the least obvious one."

Finn was looking through his own rifle, "Looks like subterranean imagers, they might be trying to use seismic mapping to locate Coaxium for the war effort." Poe crawled down from the ridge, "Well, if they aren't looking for us, we should let them be. We can move further down the rail and catch a train somewhere else." Finn and Rey looked to Lieutenant Connix, who took a moment. "I think we should take them out," She said, "The First Order is here to establish a foothold on the planet, and I'd rather not give them one more reason to devote more resources to taking over Vandor." Finn nodded, and Poe looked to Rey acquiescing to Kaydel.

A few minutes later, Rey and Kaydel slinked over the ridge and down the mountainside, taking cover behind a small, rocky outcrop. Rey had shed her encumbering backpack, and Kaydel had her blaster pistol drawn. In Rey's hands was her deactivated lightsaber. Kaydel watched as Rey craned her neck around the boulder then followed her as she scurried forward to another outcrop of rocks. The two women laid flat, looking at the shuttle. It was close now, only a hundred yards away, but there was no more cover for them to advance under. Kaydel looked to her right, scanning the mountain ridge for a sign of Poe or Finn.

Suddenly, two blasts of laser fire came from the mountain side and struck the First Order Officer and one of the stormtroopers. Further fire struck the sides of the shuttle and about the landing site. The remaining soldiers took cover behind the ship or black crates, and the two engineers threw themselves to the ground. "We need weapons!" Kaydel heard one cry out. Even with the intermittent blaster fire, the mountain range was eerily quiet. Echoes bounced around them, and Rey shed her jacket. Rey and Kaydel gave each other a reassuring grasp of the hand before springing to their feet and running into the frey.

Neither Rey or Kaydel yelled out, lest they reveal their approach. Kaudel was eighty yards away and Rey was already pulling ahead from her. Sparks flew as lasers from Finn and Poe struck the shuttle. She was sixty yards away and Rey was getting close, one of the engineers was running to the rifle of the fallen stormtrooper. Rey counted five remaining stormtroopers, two of which had noticed her. Kaydel was forty yards away when she took a knee and lined up a shot on one of the stormtroopers behind the shuttle who was taking aim at Rey. She squeezed the trigger and a red beam struck the soldier in his chest, sending him to the ground as an eruption of red flame burst into the air. Rey was charging an unaware stormtrooper and the now-armed engineer, who tapped the trooper to look at the incoming Jedi. The pair raised their weapons and took aim at her.

Rey's lightsaber illuminated with a brilliant purple glow as she slid forward. The first blaster bolt flew harmlessly into the dirt, but the second deflected from her lightsaber back towards the engineer. It caught him square in the chest, and the stormtrooper watched in shock as he fell, only to be slashed across the chest by Rey less than a second later.

Two years ago, after the retreat from Crait, Rey and Chewbacca had taken a leave of absence from the Resistance to create a new lightsaber. The fragments of Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber were left with Leia as a reminder of her brother. Rey and Chewbacca returned to Ach-To, where there were no ghosts to advise her on how to build a lightsaber, despite Chewbacca's insistence that Jedi could provide assistance from beyond the grave. Frustrated, she asked Chewbacca how Luke constructed his own lightsaber. Chewbacca brought Rey to the home of an ancient Jedi on the desert planet Tatooine. There, he guided her through what he remembered of the construction of a lightsaber. Rey spent weeks tinkering with the lightsaber based on how she had seen the lightsabers of Kylo Ren and Anakin Skywalker function. Finally, she managed to coax out a solid purple beam to emerge from the hilt...

Another precise laser blast flew from her unseen allies and struck another stormtrooper in front of Rey, knocking him off his feet. Kaydel was advancing to Rey's side, firing a steady volley at two stormtroopers still taking cover behind the shuttle. The second engineer sprinted up the loading dock of the shuttle, and another stormtrooper turned his attention to Rey. Rey advanced quickly, spinning her saber in front of her as she did with her quarterstaff back on Jakku. Blaster bolts were sent into the ground and air before she finally got in range of the trooper, and slashed him horizontally across the throat. The stormtrooper dropped his weapon and fell to his knees, clawing helplessly at his wound before collapsing. Behind her, Kaydel and two stormtroopers were exchanging fire, with neither side making much progress. In the distance, Rey could see Poe and Finn sprinting toward them. Poe and Finn were moving at the same speed, despite the fact that Finn was carrying Rey's heavy pack.

Rey turned back to the shuttle just as the engineer appeared at the mouth of the cargo bay, except now he was holding a large, cylindrical weapon. His black helmet was pulled back awkwardly, revealing a white face covered in stubble with burn marks across its forehead. "Hold your fire, or I'll blow you to smithereens." Lieutenant Connix didn't hesitate, but immediately took a shot at the engineer. The blast went wide, and the engineer staggered back and pulled the trigger while pointing the weapon at Rey.

Rey threw her hand out in a moment of instinct just as a small, black and red sphere emerged from the barrel. It only traveled a few feet before freezing in mid-air. Kaydel threw herself to the ground, covering her neck with her hands, but the engineer stood in place, dumbfounded. Seconds later, the sphere exploded in a massive fireball, igniting the interior of the shuttle as well as it's fuel cells. The spacecraft exploded in a mushroom cloud of scarlet flame. Pieces of the shuttle flew everywhere, but Rey was able to shield both her Kaydel from the debris. When the noise subsided, Rey and Kaydel stood up and examined the aftermath of the chaos. The ground was scarred and black, and the remaining stormtroopers were nowhere to be seen.

Poe and Finn arrived on the scene, and Finn immediately began to open Rey's backpack, pulling out two metal cones with wires sticking from the tip. "We need to get out of here, that almost certainly registered on the _Vulture_ 's scanners," Poe said as he lifted Connix to her feet. Finn dropped the bag and tossed one of the cones to Kaydel, "Are you both okay?" he asked as Rey deactivated her lightsaber.

"I'm fine, Finn. Good work," she said as she raised her hand again, and watched as her coat flew across the valley toward her. Rey caught the coat deftly, then proceeded after Poe and Kaydel, who were jogging toward the magna-rail. Finn threw the now empty backpack to the side and ran alongside her, "Do you think this will work?" "It has to work!" Rey yelled back between breaths. When they were below the rail, Kaydel checked her holoreader display, "We should see another one within thirty seconds. We can't afford to miss it, in case a TIE fighter spots us from the air. We'd be sitting ducks." Lieutenant Connix pulled two cords from the metal cone Finn had provided, fastening one around her waist and handing the other to Poe so he could do the same. Rey felt a firm grasp on her wrist as Finn handed her a cord from his own cone.

Rey tied it around her thin waist before looking up to see a dozen metal train cars barreling towards them on the magna-rail. All four of them braced themselves and looked skyward, waiting for the train to be above them. Kaydel was swinging the cone in her hand, building momentum. As soon as the first car was above them, she tossed it skyward, and it magnetically attached itself to the side of the second car. Poe and Kaydel were yanked away from Rey and Finn, who had hesitated a moment. Finn awkwardly threw his own cone straight up, and it passed through two cars before becoming latched to the final car.

Rey only had a moment before they were yanked backwards, and her heels skipped on the rocky ground before the grappling device began to reel them in. Rey looked up, and used her hands to guide herself between the cars, and unwrapped the cord from her waist as she rolled onto the train car. Finn was not so agile, banging his head and shoulder as he was pulled up. Rey caught him by the collar and unwrapped his cord, letting him sit up on the edge of the train car.

Ahead of them, Rey saw Lieutenant Connix's tiny head stick out, and then an arm shoot up with a closed fist except for the thumb that shot straight up. They were clear, and Rey responded with her own thumbs-up. Rey dropped down between the two cars, trying the door of the caboose, but it was locked. Rey drew her lightsaber and slashed the door at the locking mechanism. The door slid open, and Rey entered an empty room. Finn lifted himself down clumsily, and fell down as he entered. "Are you okay?" Rey asked desperately, running her hand across Finn's head. Bright red blood covered her hand, and Finn answered her with slurred words, "I'm fine, just banged my head is all."

Rey reached inside Finn's jacket, pulling out a tiny vial of blue liquid. She popped the cap open on the wound topping Finn's head, and a gel spilled out on top of it. Rey rubbed it across the light gash, slapping Finn lightly to keep him awake. Rey leaned back against the wall, placing Finn's head in her lap.

Rey took a deep breath, listening to the wind as it whistled past the train as she cradled her friend's head.


End file.
